Minnesota @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2019 ) Minnesota 2, Florida 6

The Minnesota Wild answered a stretch of playing 13 of their first 18 contests on the road by recording at least a point in nine straight games (6-0-3). The Wild bid for their fourth win in a row on Tuesday when they open a three-game road trip against the Florida Panthers.

Captain Mikko Koivu celebrated his 1,000th NHL game by notching his 700th career point with an assist in the second period on Sunday before scoring the shootout winner in Minnesota's 3-2 victory over Dallas on Sunday. Zach Parise batted a puck home for his team-leading 12th goal of the season and eighth in his last nine contests for the Wild, who will attempt to improve upon their 5-10-2 mark on the road. Florida began a season-high nine-game homestand in style on Saturday, improving to 7-3-2 at BB&T Center with a 3-0 victory over Nashville. Captain Aleksander Barkov continued his sterling play by scoring a goal to boost his point total to 18 (eight goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games overall.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin, FS North (Minnesota), FS Florida

ABOUT THE WILD (12-11-4): Koivu and Parise have pummeled the Panthers throughout the careers, with the former collecting 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 16 games while Parise has 26 (13 goals, 13 assists) in 35 contests. Defenseman Ryan Suter had three assists in last season's two-game series, boosting his point total to 15 (two goals, 13 assists) in 21 career encounters. Fellow blue-liner Jared Spurgeon notched an assist on Sunday to give him six points (one goal, five assists) in his past five games.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (13-8-5): Barkov set up five goals in the two-game season series versus Minnesota in 2018-19 to lift his career point total to 13 (two goals, 11 assists) in a dozen contests. Fellow forward Jonathan Huberdeau scored a goal and set up three others last season against the Wild, giving him nine points (five goals, four assists) in 10 career encounters. Two-time Vezina Trophy recipient Sergei Bobrovsky has also enjoyed his fair share of success versus Minnesota, posting a 9-3-1 record with one shutout, a 1.82 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in 13 career starts.

OVERTIME

1. Minnesota's Alex Stalock is expected to get the start on Tuesday with fellow G Devan Dubnyk missing the road trip to be with his ailing wife.

2. Florida D Anton Stralman recorded the fourth two-goal performance of his career on Saturday to boost his point total to four (two goals, two assists) in the last five games.

3. Wild LW Kevin Fiala is riding a five-game point streak (two goals, four assists) and has six goals and seven assists in his last 14 contests.

PREDICTION: Wild 3, Panthers 2